Match book cases are already known in the prior art, and they exist in many different forms which are useful in receiving and enclosing a regular book of matches, and these cases may be made of metal or plastic or any suitable material for enclosing the standard book of matches. With the use of a match book case, the regular match book, being made of a cardboard or paper material of well-known construction, is protected from crushing and moisture and is also protective of the matches themselves and preserves them for their normal use. Still further, it is well known that the usual match book is arranged and provided to have a safety feature, namely, that the book cover should be closed before the matches are struck against the striker portion of the match book, and thus the other matches will not be ignited by a spark. However, it is common practice and generally known that users do not close the cover of the conventional match book before striking a match, and thus there is a fire hazard in the normal use of a match book. Further, match book metal or plastic cases, such as those mentioned above, do not solve the problem of the fire hazard, since the prior art match book cases have no safety arrangement which is sufficiently usable and reliable.
Examples of prior art match book cases are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 749,539 and 1,432,473 and 1,471,331 and 2,356,926 and 2,556,817 and 2,653,750. The aforementioned prior art patents are not concerned with the safety and the use of the matches, and they simply provide a means for enclosing the match book and protecting it against crushing or the like. One prior art patent, namely, U.S. Pat. No. 2,700,455 also discloses a match book case or holder, and that patent does mention the safety feature. However, that patent is not truly a case arranged with a safety device, and the user can easily obviate the safety device by simply holding the cover open and against a spring which is intended to close the cover when striking the match.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a match book safety case which is reliable and is arranged so that it can not be circumvented or obviated by the user who must therefore use the case in its safe manner before striking a match. As such, the present invention provides a match book safety case which is an improvement upon those heretofore known in the prior art.
Still further, it is an object of this invention to provide a match book safety case which is readily and easily provided and is therefore not expensive and complicated, and which compactly retains the matches therein and which assures that the user must use the case in its intended safe manner before a match can be struck.
Still further, it is an object of this invention to provide a match book safety case which accomplishes the aforementioned objectives and which accommodates a match book having a striker on both the front and back thereof, and, in both instances, the case of this invention provides the desired element of safety even though the match book contained therein may have its striker on either the front or the rear thereof or even on both sides thereof.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawings.